Micrologix names members of new scientific advisory board

Vancouver, BC June 25, 2003 Micrologix Biotech has named several experts in the fields of medicine, infectious diseases, virology and chemistry to its new scientific advisory board.

The members of the board are:

Lorne J Tyrrell, MD, PhD. Virologist Dr Tyrrell is dean of the faculty of medicine and dentistry at the University of Alberta and the director of the Glaxo Heritage Research Institute. He has won the ASTech Award for Innovation and Science in Alberta, the Kaplan Award for Excellence in Research, and the Prix Galien Canada Medal for Research for his groundbreaking work on antiviral drugs for Hepatitis B. In 2000, Dr Tyrrell was awarded the gold medal by the Canadian Liver Foundation and the Canadian Association for the Study of Liver, and the Alberta Order of Excellence from the Province of Alberta. In 2002, he was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada by the. In addition to authoring over 200 publications, he played a pivotal role in the development of the antiviral agent Lamivudine presently marketed by Glaxo as Epivir for the treatment of HBV.

Andr B Charette, PhD, is Professor, Dpartement de chimie, and NSERC/Merck Frosst/Boehringer Ingelheim Industrial Chair, at the Universit de Montral. Dr Charette has distinguished himself in the area of asymmetric processes. His work on asymmetric cyclopropanation using chiral auxiliaries and novel reagents has already attracted considerable attention. The “Charette asymmetric cyclopropanation” of allylic alcohols is a popular method among synthetic chemists today. He has also devised conceptually novel approaches to catalyst and reaction design with important applications in alpha-chiral amine synthesis and piperidines which are important subunits of bioactive compounds. He has been the recipient of some of Canada’s most prestigious awards including a Steacie Fellowship, and the Rutherford Medal.

William Craig, MD, is head of clinical pharmacology and professor of medicine and pharmaceutics at the University of Wisconsin Medical School. Recognized as a leading expert in the field of antibiotic resistance, pharmacology and antimicrobial therapy, he is the chairman of the FDA anti-infective advisory committee and a member of the Subcommittee on antimicrobial susceptibility Testing of the NCCLS (National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards). Dr Craig serves on the editorial boards of seven leading journals in the field of infectious diseases, and is currently associate editor of the Journal of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. Dr Craig is also a member of the company’s clinical advisory board.

Ving J Lee, PhD, is currently vice president, discovery research at Anacor Pharmaceuticals. From 1993 to 2001, Dr Lee held several positions at Microcide Pharmaceuticals most recently as vice president, research operations and technology assessment, and senior research advisor. Dr Lee joined Lederle in 1977 as senior scientist and in 1989 was named head of the chemistry department for infectious disease and molecular biology research section. He has been involved in the discovery and/or development of mitoxantrone (Wyeth), bisantrene, tazobactam (Wyeth), cefixime, cefuzonam, beta-lactamase inhibitors, the glycylcyclines, gyrase inhibitors, oral carbapenems, beta- lactams for problematic gram-positive pathogens, uridyl-peptide antibiotics, inhibitors of bacterial efflux pumps, and antiviral agents. He is also a member of the scientific and business advisory boards of several private companies, member of several National Institutes of Health study sections, and editorial boards. Dr Lee received his BA in Chemistry from Ohio State University, a MS and a PhD from University of Illinois-Urbana.